Hi! If you are reading this, you're thinking about finally doing something about your garage floor. Maybe it has stains from spilled oil or paint. Maybe it has some cracks that you would just as soon not look at. On the other hand, maybe there is still blood soaked into the concrete from the unfortunate incident with Jimmy and the floor jack.

The first thing that you need to know is that you actually have a couple of different choices. You can use either garage floor coatings, or a garage floor covering. In this article, we are going to talk about garage floor coverings.

There are several different kinds and I am going to give you the main features of each one. By the time you finish reading this brief article, you have a good solid basic grounding in the issue. Moreover, if you also read my article on garage floor coatings, you will be able to make an informed decision on which way you are going to go with your garage floor remodeling.

The huge advantage that coverings have over floor coatings is speed. You can literally do an entire garage floor in a single morning, and all you have to do to prep the surface is to clean it. Another plus is that coverings, well, they are coverings. All of the stains and spills in cracks and chips and gouges in your floor will be completely and permanently removed from sight.

The only downside is that garage floor coverings can cost several times more than coatings.

There are two kinds of garage floor tiles -- rigid and flexible. We are going talk about the rigid ones here. The main difference is of course they are rigid. So they are made from Victor stronger stiffer material and can handle heavier loads. This again will be a big deal for you if you commonly use floor jacks to lift your cars up, or motorcycle kick stands a regular visitor to your garage. They are also more temperature resistant than other kinds of garage floor coverings, and you can even get tiles with openings in them, which allow the floor beneath two "breathe" and prevent mildew. They are really easy to install -- you just snap them together

Flexible tiles

Just like the rigid tiles, these come in all kinds of colors and patterns and textures. You get everything from imitation diamond deck to polka dots and of course, a simple checkerboard scheme. You will find that the flexible tiles are softer material and offer better footing than rigid tiles, and because they fit better together at the seams they are more resistant to liquid seeping through them to your garage floor. In addition, like all tiles, if one is damaged or stained you can simply pop it out and pop in a new one.

These are also known as rollout mats, and they are probably the easiest kind of garage floor covering to install. Literally all you have to do is roll them out. Some people like to put a couple of single mats underneath the normal parking spot of their vehicles to catch any oil or drip edge. Others trim the mats to sit and roll them out to cover the entire garage floor. The downsides of garage floor mats are twofold:

First of all, if they get stained, that's it. Unlike floor tiles, there is no simple repair option. Secondly they can be very slippery when wet, so maybe they aren't the best option if you live up north and normally track and a lot of snow and moisture.

Vinyl tile or linoleum

The manufacturers don't normally recommend that you use this product in garages for many people do anyway. Mainly they do it because it comes in a lot of different patterns and colors and it is cheap. Huge downsides are that it can be slippery, takes stains easily and does not bond well to concrete if the temperature is at all cold.

Well there you have it. A quick and concise review of the different kinds of garage floor coatings available on the market today. Hope this information to help you, and wish you luck with your garage floor project.

Insulated Garage Door

Once you have chosen and installed your garage floor covering, make sure that you cap off the project by putting in an insulated garage door. This will keep inclement weather from screwing up all of your hard work. If you are already happy with your current garage door, you can install your own garage door insulation by buying any of a number of kits that are available on the market.

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